Checkmate
by The Dark Heroine
Summary: A new recruit joins the Task Force by request of L. Her past is a mystery as is the role she has to play in the investigation. Will she assist L and invoke the wrath of Kira? Or will she stand by Kira to become his protector and Goddess of the New World?


** Copyright 2011 – The Dark Heroine**. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited.  
><em><strong>Disclaimer<strong>_: Death Note™ characters © Copyright Tsugumi Ohba

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><p>Light sighed, running a hand through his auburn hair as he looked unseeingly into the cold glass mirror. It was steamed. He watched absent-mindedly as a single drip, a crystal tear, slowly wove a miniature river through the fog of frost. It landed with an inaudible 'plop' on the sink, the river consumed once more by the mist.<p>

Another day at Task Force. No doubt another day of his life wasted on spending hours looking through the same files, scanning for any signs of anything unusual, anything that could lead to Kira. He knew they would not find anything. Ryuzaki knew they would not find anything. Hell, even Misa knew they would not find anything. But still L persisted with this façade, pretending to cooperate with Light, while all the time watching him for one false move. One small thing that could betray him as Kira. Like a spider waiting at the edge of its web until something flew in, tugging at the strings, and he would leap to envelop it with silky thread and sharpened jaws.

The fact was, that was never going to happen.

Light was not Kira. He did not remember being Kira, and quite frankly there was no solid evidence to back up the theory that he was Kira. As far as anyone – besides, perhaps, Ryuzaki – on the Task Force was concerned, Light was innocent until proven guilty.

Glancing at his pale reflection once more, he sighed again. He had lost weight since all this had happened. Certainly his time in imprisonment had worn away a few years of his life, even though he could barely complain; he was still young after all.

He had bags under his eyes, almost as pronounced as Ryuzaki's, and his hair was a little lank, flopping more than usual into his eyes. His skin was pale, and a little unhealthy. Beneath that, he was still as good-looking as ever, but his general appearance was that of someone trapped inside for over two months. He hated this life. He wished, by some miracle, Kira could be captured, and he, proved innocent. He wished Ryuzaki would understand. All he wanted was to be free.

He let out the loudest sigh yet.

Behind him, Ryuzaki frowned, pausing, mid-lick, through removing all the icing from a donut with his tongue. The dark-eyed youth spun around on his chair, temporarily abandoning his laptop, whose screen was full of innumerable, illegible characters, pictures and figures, and faced Light. Ryuzaki looked as sleep-deprived as ever. As far as Light had seen, having been chained to such a strange companion for over a month, the older youth never seemed to sleep. In fact, all he ever seemed to do was work and eat, almost obsessively.

"Light-kun, will you please stop sighing. It is rather distracting." He requested, firmly, but politely all the same, swivelling back to his computer screen and resuming the gradual demolition of his donut.

Light pressed a hand to his temples, then gracefully strode across the floor to take the seat next to Ryuzaki. He pulled it up to the desk, chain clinking ever so lightly against the plastic arm of the chair, and rested his elbow on the desk, chin on his hand as he peered at the various windows open on Ryuzaki's screen. After a moment, Ryuzaki finished his donut with a large gulp, slowly licking his fingers off, one by one, before turning to Light, eyes ever staring.

"Light-kun, we have a new recruit to the Task Force today."

Light cocked an eyebrow slightly. A new recruit? This was certainly out of the blue. Could it be this recruit was another Kira suspect? Would he also be under 24 hour surveillance? he wondered.

"Are they going to help with the investigation?" He asked finally, as Ryuzaki returned to licking his fingers, much like a cat did when washing itself. He resisted the temptation to smirk, his lips twitching at the mental image of Ryuzaki running his hand through his messy hair in an attempt to clean it like a cat.

"Yes. They will be a great asset to the team." With that, Ryuzaki turned back to the screen, indicating that the subject was closed. Light doubted that any further coherent answers would be obtainable. With that, he propped his chin back on his hand and continued to watch the monitor as Ryuzaki flickered through more stats showing recent deaths, his mind elsewhere.

Thus, the morning dragged on until lunchtime. Light hadn't felt like eating, seeing Ryuzaki eat the amount of sweets he did was more than enough to put him off even a bite of food. Although by lunchtime, he coaxed Ryuzaki away from the computer screen, he was starting to get a headache from staring at the glaring monitor. And, as usual, no progress had been made.

It was Sunday today, so the rest of the Task Force were making the most of the one-day respite. Not as if they did much work nowadays anyway, as far as they were concerned this was just a long holiday. There was nothing worth doing anyway.

Occasionally Light's father would pay a visit, asking, futilely, whether they had made any progress. Ryuzaki would always answer the same. "We're still working on it, Yagami-san." Then, every hour or so Watari would appear with another trolley full of delicacies. It made Light sick just looking at them. He was not sure he would ever be able to see sweets the same way again after being forced to watch Ryuzaki gorging himself on them all day, every day.

Light led the way down to the kitchens, dragging Ryuzaki behind him. He glanced at his watch briefly. Misa probably wouldn't put in an appearance for another hour or so, thank goodness. He admittedly dreaded Misa's arrival. For some reason, she had attached herself to him like a leech, dependent on him for survival. He could barely move an inch without her clinging onto some part of him. He would never understand exactly what possessed him to kiss her in the first place, encouraging her. He must have been mad. He could hardly blame her though, he had created this situation and been responsible for leading her on.

He couldn't tell her his real sentiments – that he truly felt nothing for her, not even friendship – not only because it would undoubtedly be futile, but also because maintaining a relationship with her was essential to the case. Or so Ryuzaki claimed. He wondered sometimes if Ryuzaki had said this just to agitate him, or maybe to elicit a reaction. To betray himself as Kira. It seemed Light could barely cough without Ryuzaki wanting to check that this was not a clue that he was Kira. It was, he admitted, becoming a little more than ridiculous.

The moment they reached the kitchen, Ryuzaki loped over to the fridge, digging around in it for more sweet morsels, or, as Light had learnt by now from his routinely habits, cake. Meanwhile, Light grabbed the nearest bag of potato chips, deliberately yanking on Ryuzaki's handcuffs in order to hurry him up.

"Mm?" Ryuzaki appeared from behind the fridge door, cake in one hand, strawberry in the other as he proceeded to pick the fruits off the sponge one by one. Resisting the temptation to roll his eyes, Light crossed his arms, restraining his building frustration at the older boy's persistent childishness. "Oh, right." Ryuzaki suddenly cottoned on, emerging from behind the fridge, closing the door, then proceeding to follow the slightly impatient, irritated Light back up to the working floor in silence.

They might have been chained together for several long weeks, but that didn't mean that they got on any better than before, in fact, they had long since run out of things to talk about and simply avoided conversation, as suited them both. They could brood in peace, without either one interrupting the other.

Ryuzaki held the cake in one hand, following behind Light, the finger of the other hand placed pensively on his lip. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

They reached the working floor, the lift doors opening with a 'ping'.

Light slowed, grinding to a halt upon catching sight of a young woman standing straight as a ruler next to the computer, pale arms clamped around her slim frame. He glanced for reassurance at Ryuzaki, only to find his companion already gone, punctuated by a sudden yank on the handcuffs as he was dragged along too, like a dog on a lead. He suppressed the urge to scowl.

The woman turned, her face bathed with an eerie blue colour from the screens, her soft features clear beneath the piercing azure light, but her expression every bit as unreadable as Ryuzaki's. Her hair was long and wound like a golden waterfall down to her waist. Individual strands stuck out, turned sapphire by the distorted light. Her face, tainted with the same blue glow, was still slightly rounded – she was young, he placed her at no more than twenty years of age. Her features were soft, not native; her nose was small and gently rounded, her features apparently Caucasian, perhaps American. Her eyebrows were dark and prominent, framing the fleeting azure reflections shimmering in her mirror-like eyes.

He cast her eyes briefly down her body. She wasn't armed, as far as he could tell. Besides, it was highly unlikely she could get past the security systems unaided. She must have been let in. Her figure was generously feminine, with wide hips, slim waist and a typical hourglass shape, perhaps even more accentuated by her nationality and choice of clothes. The woman wore a white blouse and dark trousers, a belt hauling her waist in around her middle. She was neither fat, not thin, but placed somewhere fairly in between.

He met her eyes again. She frowned at him for a moment before her gaze passed to Ryuzaki, then the handcuffs. Her frown grew deeper. Light noticed a hint of a grin pull at the corners of the genius detective's mouth… what was he thinking? The woman's eyes fixed back on Light.

"I'm looking for L." She announced quietly, her voice unquivering but gentle at the same time. She had a slight lilt upon her words, suggesting that Japanese did not come to her naturally as it did to them. Obviously, Light thought with a hint of smugness, she thought he was L - not Ryuzaki - who was stood beside him, messy-haired, wide-eyed and cake in hand. There was a long pause. Light glanced at Ryuzaki. Did he expect him to cover him and pretend to be L? This was crazy! He did not even know who this woman was! Unless… realisation dawned upon him.

"_I_ am L." Ryuzaki said finally, handing his cake to Light, which Light accepted grudgingly, feeling like a servant. The dark-haired detective wiped his hands on his trousers before extending one to the woman, his other – handcuffed – hand, remaining at his side. The woman looked down offending limb, a disbelieving expression flitting across her features momentarily.

"_You_ are L?" She inquired, taking a step forward, her eyes flitting to Light's once again, as if for confirmation. She gripped Ryuzaki's hand for a moment, shaking it firmly, as opposed to his rather weak and unenthusiastic wet-fish of a handshake. "Pleased to meet you." She chimed politely, bowing curtly then straightening, her eyes meeting L's. She stopped for a moment, her expression freezing as a silent transaction appeared to take place between the two. She inclined her head again slightly.

"The pleasure is all mine, Yamada-san."

The blonde woman turned to Light, her flickering dark eyes meeting his challengingly. He stepped forward, holding out a cake-free hand for her to shake. Her skin was soft on his, and she squeezed his hand once. Seeing this as a challenge, Light shook it back, firmly. They broke away.

"Yagami Light." He introduced, bowing his head politely.

She returned the bow, deliberately humbling him by bowing lower. "Yamada Mariko." She replied, straightening up to glance into his eyes once more. "Light is an unusual name, may I ask how is it spelt?" Mere pleasantries, to cover the seriousness of the true matter, he thought. Was this all a test?

"It is spelt as Tsuki, moon. Not many people notice that." He complimented.

Ryuzaki glanced from one to another, and Light felt another shiver of frustration edge its way down his back. Definitely a test, her appearance was no small fluke or coincidence, more likely some contrived reason of L's to collar him as Kira.

"The journey went well?" Ryuzaki soon asked, sounding barely interested while his gaze remained unblinkingly on the woman before them. He tucked his hands away in his pockets, a few remaining cake crumbs dropping to the floor. Light frowned at him for a moment, but was unnoticed.

The blonde woman shifted slightly, awkward beneath the detective's scrutinising gaze, but suppressing her discomfort beneath a serene front. Was she also under Ryuzaki's veil of protection? Light wondered; or was it all an act, a conspiracy between her and L?

"Yes. But a rest certainly would not go unmissed." She lifted a hand and ran it through her hair, brushing it away from her face before it fell straight back into place, temporarily concealing her expression from view.

Ryuzaki nodded. "I understand. Watari will show you to your room. Light-kun and I will be here if you should need anything."

Light raised an eyebrow. Unusual of Ryuzaki to be so hospitable. What exactly was going on here? She was obviously the new recruit, that much he knew. He had to admit that he was surprised it was a woman, and a foreign one at that. Yet her name… was Japanese. This was no accident. Therefore, it was also possible that she had Japanese blood… did it really matter? She was probably only a temporary addition to the team. However, he could not stop wondering why it was Ryuzaki had chosen such a woman, and a young one at that. It was downright suspicious. Still, he could ask questions later.

As Light pondered, absorbed in his thoughts, the lift pinged open once more to reveal Watari, who strode purposefully across the shiny floor, acknowledged L then bowed to the woman before returning to the elevator, waiting for the recruit to follow. The two young men watched as the woman named Mariko bowed courteously to both of them before leaving the room silently behind Watari. Her slightly confused expression indicating she continued to silently ponder upon the reason for Light and Ryuzaki's bondage.

Light glanced over at Ryuzaki, whose gaze remained fixed upon the lift as it shut. It was not hard to imagine that an unvoiced exchange occurred between the detective and Watari as the metal doors joined… a subtle nod of the head, a raise of the eyebrows... The older youth turned away after a few moments, and moved back to his seat, crouched slightly, as always, as though 50 years older than his actual age. Light joined him by the computers, the blue hue beginning to cause his eyes to ache. L pressed a few keys, then looked meaningfully at Light.

"Now we watch." He stated calmly, apathetically.

Light choked, disbelieving. "We – _what_?"

L whirled around in his chair with a casual elegance to face Light, staring at him with unreadable calm dark eyes. "Surveillance cameras. It's a compulsory security procedure." He shrugged indifferently, claiming his cake back from Light. The latter frowned in distaste at the red and white icing mess it had left on his hand before glancing back up at the detective.

"Ryuzaki, you cannot do that! You should at least tell her what is happening. This is _illegal_!" Light exclaimed, mildly horrified. He may not even know the woman, but this was simply wrong. She was not even a suspect, and although her purpose was to aid the task force, she still had no knowledge of being observed.

"She will have the same monitoring as Misa. We will cover the monitors when needed to preserve human dignity, but we must ensure the safety of the Task Force." He paused, analysing the now strawberry-less cake and resting his thumb upon his lips. "I don't want to, but it is necessary."

"So she is a suspect then?" Light asked carefully. She could not be a suspect, it just did not make sense, however he could never hope to understand all of the obscure and subtle workings of Ryuzaki's mind, and he was beginning to think it was distinctly possible due to the detective's extreme paranoid behaviour.

"No. But, we must monitor her activities, if nothing else, to clear her of suspicion. However, I recruited her to help us, not as a suspect. If she does turn out to be an associate, or Kira himself, however..." He leisurely took a bite out of the cake, relishing the taste "then all the better for us." He swallowed.

Light shook his head in incredulity. Did Ryuzaki actually trust anyone? Not even someone who he had undoubtedly personally recruited to his own team?

"Who is she? Where does she come from?" Light questioned after a long silence. Ryuzaki took a few large bites of his cake before gulping once again.

"She is Yamada Mariko. She has come from America. The rest is for her to tell us." The detective answered simply, giving the cake another adoring lick. Light frowned.

"Do you not know anything about her then?"

"Perhaps. It is not for me to tell you." He answered with the usual amount of annoying superiority. Sometimes Light didn't know how he kept from punching the other man. He was, at times, unbearable company.

"Fine." Light grumbled, a little grumpily, "I will talk to her later myself."

Ryuzaki nodded vaguely, then turned back to the security cameras of Mariko. He watched as the slim woman dumped a couple of suitcases on the floor, ran a hand through her hair, muttering something inaudible, before slumping onto her bed. Her dark blonde hair splayed around her, and within moments she had fallen asleep, fully clothed, on top of the covers. Not surprising considering the effects of jetlag on someone who had flown directly from America. L crouched closer to observe the screen as though watching a gripping movie, his impenetrable gaze never once lifting.

"I am glad you have found yourself a new hobby." Light commented sarcastically. He was finding it hard to grasp that L could do this to someone who was completely unwitting, and as far as he could gather, innocent. It was not fair. But then, he knew Ryuzaki. Fairness had nothing to do with it. Ryuzaki was ruthless and to the point, nothing would stop him from reaching his goal. Certainly not something as menial and unimportant as common human courtesies such as respect for another's privacy. Light glanced down at the cold steel cuff cutting into his skin. Yes, L did not care what lengths he went to at all.

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><p><em>My apologies for the short length, however, this is merely a shadow of what is yet to come ;) I did want to make it longer, but it started out a draft, and should the chapter have been longer it may well have ended up as two or more. Next chapter is Mariko's first day, wherein you discover more of her character and psyche.<em>

_Please review,_

_The Dark Heroine_


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